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The city was dark and silent. There were no candles lit in the houses, no pokemon conversing with each other, and no civilians were on the streets. Curfew was not yet over. The only pokemon that had a right to walk the streets were those that wore armor that would shine under the sunlight. If a pokemon had been out when curfew had started they would have escorted back to their house. This far into curfew, however, would have the Knights arrest and jail them for suspicious activity.

It’s just what our world is, the Grovyle thought to himself as he stared up at the stone ceiling from his bed. Ever since meeting Matthew Wilger, Maverick had slowly begun to ponder just what his friend would tell him. How certain laws that had kept them safe had in fact harmed them. Matthew had called up many examples whenever he and Maverick talked. At first, Maverick had been slow to accept that the Council had been doing anything but wrong. Ever since he was but a lad he had always been taught that the laws of the land kept them safe. It was true. There had been no famines, no plagues, and no other signs that showed that the Legendaries were upset at them. Still, after so much time spent with his friend, Maverick couldn’t say that he still had a firm belief in those thoughts, but just thinking about the Council in that way greatly disturbed the Grovyle.

Maverick slowly got up and stretched his body. He walked to the room where he hung his armor passing neat and clean rooms that only held the bare necessities a Knight would need. The Grovyle’s armor was a pure white color, a symbol of the chastity he vowed he would keep when he had become the leader of the Knights of the Oran, with an oran berry designed on the front. The armor was of a light material that would allow Maverick to use his speed in battle. The armor consisted of a white sleeveless breastplate that covered his chest and back. He wore a pair of gauntlets the protected his forearms as well as a pair of greaves that had a unique design. Unlike most that were worn like pants and protected all of a user’s lower body Maverick’s only protected the front of his thighs and calves, and had straps that would make sure the greaves wouldn’t fall off. The last component was his helmet that was contoured to the shape of his head and specially crafted to allow his head leaf to emerge though an opening on top.

Once he had finished placing his armor on the Grovyle stepped out into the darkness and began to head to Council’s chambers. The city around him was completely made out of stone. The housing district had row upon row of identical buildings that were all made out of the same colored stone. The only way one could tell the houses apart was from the numbers that were marked on each one. The dirt roads that were in all cities had hardened the bottom of Maverick’s feet to the point that he couldn’t even feel any of the rocks he would step on. The Knights on patrol stopped and gave small bows to him whenever he passed. He simply nodded at them, he was still a bit drowsy to do anything else. After walking for some time Maverick finally got to the entrance of the Chambers. The building itself was huge and since it was taller than all the other buildings in Markus it was pretty hard to miss. Unlike the rest of the stone city the Chambers had been built from red-colored stone and was a good three stories tall. It was only natural for the council to have the one building that stood out.

Maverick opened the door and was approached by the foot washer. As was customary for whenever entering a place of business and the Chambers Maverick held up one foot after the other and allowed his feet to be cleansed. Thanking the Croconaw Maverick continued into the lobby. There were only a few guards present on the ground floor who each bowed to him. The lobby itself was huge and the largest floor in the Chambers and was able to hold a good five hundred pokemon, or so he had heard. Off to the side Maverick noticed some pokemon readying the food that was always served to the Knights early in the morning, but he didn’t have time for breakfast. Maverick continued walking until he was before the first flight of stairs. Truth be told, Maverick always hated the stairs in the Chambers. It didn’t help that instead of having a psychic to teleport him up he had to climb each and every step all the way up to the third floor to reach the Council. Only those on the Council were allowed to teleport up so he ascended, yet again.

The second floor had one hallway that branched off into multiple hallways that held the places where pokemon who worked for the Council would write papers or act as staff for whatever jobs the Council needed.

There were two staircases to the third floor and, of course, Maverick took the closest one. Once he was on the third floor Maverick walked past the small crowd of ten Knights who were the Council’s sworn protection and stopped at the stone door at the end of the hallway and knocked three times. The door’s creaked open and an abra stood on the other side, “Sir Renos, the Council is right now in a discussion.”

“Thank you Samuel.”

There was a small room off to the side that Samuel hurried back to as Maverick stood at attention near the doorway. The room held five chairs that were arranged in a circle. In each sat a Council member and right now Matthew had the field.

“-And that’s why the curfew should be reduced!”

Joshua smirked, “But what about murders happening in the dark then? What happens if a citizen walks home alone, in the dark, and is attacked? It’s much easier to miss events happening in darkness Matthew. And if that happens, then more and more attacks will happen. It’s just in some pokemon’s nature to attack the weak. Just look at the incident last week. A poor Bayleef almost killed because she wandered out and met the wrong person at the wrong time.”

Fergo sighed, “What you say is true Joshua. We have been arguing this issue for five days now, more than enough time to form our opinions. How many say yea to the issue of reducing the curfew by one minute?”

Matthew was the only one to raise his hand.

“And how many say nay?”

The other four raised their hands.

“The motion is settled. The curfew is to stay how it is.”

At this point Fergo noticed Maverick, “Ah Maverick, come over here. We have some important news for you.”

It took a few minutes for Fergo to relay his orders. As soon as he was done Maverick bowed, “As you command Orator,” He said.

Fergo smirked, “You are released Maverick.”

Maverick headed out of the room as the Council once again began to debate a new issue.

There was a loud buzzing as the red alarm clock began to flash. The Linoone on the bed groaned under the covers and pressed the pillow against his ears. When the buzz increased in volume the Linoone’s hand reached out and began to move across the desk until he felt the alarm and slammed down the snooze button. Letting out a loud yawn the Linoone’s head poked out of the sheets and his eyes blinked sleepily. He looked over at the clock and sluggishly slithered out of bed.

He managed to make it to his sink in the next room and began to splash water onto his face when he cried out and quickly turned the dial to hot. It took a few seconds for the last remnants of his sleep to disappear. Damon raised himself on his hind legs and stretched his back. The Linoone’s room was a total mess due to all of the various gadgets he had collected during his life. His CD’s were cluttering his desk even though he had a CD holder that one of his friends had gotten for him during his last birthday, the wires and cables that connected his appliances were placed in various parts all over the floor causing him to step lightly, less his microwave or alarm clock come crashing onto the ground. All of the various clothes he wore throughout the week were scattered all over his steel floor but that didn’t stop him in finding his red scarf and wrapping it around his neck.

He didn’t need to even look down to find where he always left his comb and dragged it through his fur. Unlike his room he took his appearance very seriously and combed through all of his fur at least three times before he was satisfied. He looked himself in the mirror and chuckled, “Damon Malruth you are one handsome devil!”

Damon stepped out of his home and emerged in the middle of the dark cavern that housed the Mechanist city. Originally all of the enclaves had been on the surface and easy to find, which meant that the Knights constantly attacked them. Damon wasn’t one for history but apparently 150 years ago, or somewhere near there, their ancestors had had enough and had the cities moved underground. All he knew was that it took a whole lot of pokemon who knew Dig as well as a ton of psychics to lower the cities into the earth but all in all it was for the better. They waited ten years before they did the same with the other enclaves save the Cerulean one. According to legend the Knights were baffled when they couldn’t find the cities but still saw the Mechanists moving on the earth.

The only way into the enclaves now was from a cleverly hidden hole that sloped downward into the earth and was large enough to fit in pokemon of any size. The holes were the main reason why the Declarum Forces was still needed. They couldn’t be completely cut off from the surface, it belonged to them too and not just to those in the Council Cities! The caverns had taken a full year to dig out but the time was worth the wait, or so Damon thought. With all of them living in the caverns the only one other way a Mechanist could be in danger was when they were moving above ground to go to another enclave, but even then there were Declarum Forces that would escort pokemon around on the surface. Damon didn’t know how many debates he had sat through about having tunnels created that would connect all the enclaves. Each side had valid points as to why and why not they were needed, but a majority of the Mechanists were fine with the current system and as long as the pokemon were happy then that was all that mattered to Damon.

Damon moved through the bustling streets as those who had stayed up partying were heading home and shopkeepers were setting up their booths. Damon dashed through the streets giving greetings every now and then. The enclave itself was gorgeous. Most of the buildings only had one level but the colors alone caught his eyes. There were street lights erected in various areas that each gave off a different color. The buildings were in different shades of colors since the owners had free reign over how to use their property. Most of the business even had neon signs that advertised their wares with flashing lights. There were houses, food stands, medical clinics, churches, and all other sorts of buildings that housed various activites.

Damon got through most of the traffic and arrived at the convention center. In human times this had been the place to be whenever community events had been set up, but today it was serving a different purpose. One he stepped inside Damon noticed that some food vendor had already set up tables with pots of all kinds of foods. And it was free! Right now there were only a few members of the Declarum Forces moving around. Damon noticed a familiar Blaziken and headed to the center table.

“Hey there Urta! So, heard anything yet?”

The Blaziken grunted, “Nope, the higher-ups are keeping us in the dark. Don’t want us spitting anything out too prematurely apparently. Get anything out of your mom?”

Damon shook his head, “No. She doesn’t know anything either, which is strange since she always know everything.”

“We’ll find out soon enough. So how many are coming?”

Damon shrugged, “All I know that it includes all of the D.F. living here and any D.F. that were off duty when the command came. Must be pretty special if everyone’s called here, eh?” He poked her lightly with a claw.

Urta growled, “Remember what I said last time.”

Damon chuckled, “You wouldn’t do that in front of everyone.”

Urta raised an eybrow.

“…Again. Still, this is exciting! Doing something to change the world… I hope that it’s something big!”

Urta grunted again, “Yeah, we’ll see. Not everyone’s here yet so we’ll probably wait a few minutes to an hour waiting for all the sleepy heads to come.”

The city was eerily silent, save for the far clattering of the various patrolling knights’ armor scraping against one another, the darkness seeming nearly total, had it not been for the large, bright moon resting near the edge of the sky, preparing to settle down and make way for the sun’s brilliant rays.

Caedmon always loved this; Sitting atop one of the houses, with his legs over the side of the roof, staring up into the sky as he awaited sunrise. He always did this. Got to bed a little early and got up in the middle of the night to go out on patrols, help out with guard duty, or handle a curfew-breaker into a nice, cozy cell.

As he had gotten up this night however, he knew that he wasn’t going to be able to enjoy the sunrise as he usually did, having to head off to that meeting with Maverick and some other knights. However, knowing this, he also knew that he would not be able to take a break to get any kind of breakfast or any food at all, which was the reason he had brought a couple berries with him to his small lookout post at the very edge of the city.

Lifting one of the berries, he began chewing on it, being careful not to let its juices run down his chin. He had learned manners a long, long time ago, and he would not show others any kind of bad side of himself, if he could help it. He had to be an example to the young knights, training to protect the land and it’s inhabitants.

A faint breeze rolled in across the city and Caedmon closed his eyes, letting the wind sweep across what parts of his furry body was not covered by metal, his hair-like appendages wavering faintly in the wind, a warm smile spreading on his lips at the feeling. “Too bad about the sunrise..”

He gave a small shrug of his shoulders to himself more than anyone else before slipping off the edge of the building, pressing the side of his foot as well as his left paw against the building’s side, using it to slide down part of the way before leaping the remainder of it, landing firmly on the dirt road, on both his paws.

He stretched out and rolled his shoulders a little, lifting the remains of the berry, tossing it into his mouth as he chewed with visible joy. He began strolling towards the Council’s building. Underway, he met a couple of knights, to which he smiled and gave a wave of his paw or a nod to, each of which either responded with a smile and a nod, or a bow and a respectful mumble.

He didn’t seem to mind either, and simply proceeded to the building, pushing the door open into the massive lobby. For a moment, he just stood there, glancing around before finally noticing the Croconaw seeming to desperately want his feet to be washed.

“Oh, hah. Pardon me, I hadn’t seen you there.” He said as he lifted his paws in turn, letting the Croconaw wash them whilst trying to avoid eye contact with the Lucario in the rather intimidating, dark blue and black armor, covering majority of his body. His head was uncovered, as it usually was. He preferred not to wear his helmet. The arm- and leg pieces weren’t connected to his chestplate, which held the Oran berry symbol right around the spike protruding from his chest. All of his armor had been created in layers, to give the maximum amount of mobility, while still being rather well-guarded. The metal it was made from was rather light, giving him plenty of opportunity to move around as he pleased.

And still, it was made to look very intimidating, which Caedmon half disliked. As the second-in-command, he shouldn’t inspire fear, but loyalty and respect, and not by his looks, but by his actions. Still, the Council had insisted on him wearing this armor as long as he was in a commanding position, and at least it gave him a distinct look, for the Mechanists to fear.

Only as the Croconaw finished cleaning his feet did he notice Maverick, the leader of the knights, trudging slowly up the stairs, towards the council’s chambers. A small smile played on Caedmon’s lips. He had always hated those stairs.

He bowed his head and thanked the Croconaw before moving towards the stairs at a leisurely pace, ascending it just like his ally had done a moment beforehand. As he reached the top of the stairs, standing outside of the Council’s chambers, he moved over to lean against the rail, waiting for Maverick to come out again, not wanting to disturb the council with what he could easily hear from Maverick’s mouth.

As he emerged from the chamber, Caedmon gave him both a friendly, and at the same time, respectful nod and a smile, paws resting on either side of him on the railing, looking rather relaxed.
“Good morning. Received our new orders, then? It’s been a while since we have had anything to actually do, though I should of course not complain. It only means the Mechanists are holding back their attacks.”

As people started waking up in the Birth Enclave, various noises could be heard from Alexander's garage. He had woken up about thirty minutes ago, working hard to repair his Boom Cannon. He had used it for practice last night, and the trigger, for some odd reason, became stuck after the first shot. It was no trouble to fix. A little oil here and there, a new spring, and a little tender care from the Aggron was all it needed. Quickly, he took the cannon outside and held it with his right claw. Pointing it in the air, he fired one shot, a loud roar being heard from the gun as a blast of air came out, causing the ground under Alexander to crack.

"That probably woke some people up... Hopefully they won't be too mad at me if it did," said Alexander, walking back into the garage and placing the Boom Cannon above his two other cannons. He quickly hooked a line to the air tank on it, refilling it so it would be ready for use. Happy with his work, Alexander turned, only to see his mother standing there. Like him, she was an Aggron, however one could see that she was old, as some of the steel on her body had become rusted. At seventy, it was something that she was still alive, as most Aggron usually die before the age of fifty, for one reason or another.

"Alex my boy... Don't you need to be getting ready? I'm sure you-"

"Don't worry Mom, all I gotta do is wipe the grime off my claws. Remember, don't work on anything too big until I get back, okay? I don't want you to get hurt like last time."

His mother just nodded and motioned for him to get going. As quickly as an Aggron could, Alexander walked into his home, made mostly of metal. Honestly, do you think anything else could hold up two Aggron? He quickly used a small amount of water to get the grime off. Looking in the mirror, he saw that he was overall clean. He polished the steel on his body last night, including his silver tail made of platinum and titanium.

"Yep. Lookin' good. Maybe Syan will finally notice me for once," said Alexander, feeling his mind wonder at the thought of the female Meganium named Syan. They were good friends who spent a lot of time together, but Alexander likes her for more than a friend. Taking his mind off of that, he headed out of his house and began heading to where the meeting was taking place. Walking slowly, he nodded at several vendors and people, saying hey to those who said hey to him. The big softie even stopped to play with a rather brave Totodile who wanted to wrestle with the big guy.

Within a few more minutes, Alexander walked into the building. Almost immediately he spotted Urta, one of the few Mechanists he has fought with the longest. Walking next to her, he grabbed a drink and gulped it down.

"What cha know you old hen?" asked Alexander, a smirk clear on his face. He respected Urta as a warrior, a mechanist, and as a friend. This was how he picked at her. ((I hope Alexander doesn't get a roundhouse kick to the face.))

*skip*

Famidus "The Demon" Verruck

As some Pokemon were just starting to wake up, Famidus was up already, having cleaned himself up and already put on his black as midnight armor with royal purple pauldrons. Although one couldn't see his face because of his large helmet, The Demon was smiling like he always did, ready to play... Although today wasn't a day to play. Today was a day to act normal as most individuals call it. Famidus, personally, hated days like this. He hated when he couldn't play with his toys.

"I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate HATE it when the council does this... Why can't I just go on my merry way and crack a few smiles, and skulls, as I go along? Oh yeah, because the Council is full of a bunch of killjoys!"

Anger could easily be heard in his voice, but the smile stay glued on his face as a certain songbecame stuck in his head. He had heard it one time while killing some Mechanist children, not that the Council would mind. They wanted the Mechanists dead. Heck, Famidus was pretty sure he got a medal for what he did that day. Not that he cared. He got medals like candy... Oh sweet candy...

"Mmm... Candy..." was all the crazy Darmanitan said as he walked out of his house, seeing the Charizard known as Candy across from him. Upon seeing the Knight-Commander, the Charizard's skin turned a shade paler and she quickly hid in her home. She was one of Famidus' favorite toys, however she broke a little too quickly for his tastes. Not that it mattered. He loved playing with her still.

Walking along the streets, a few brave souls bowed to The Demon, while others hid wherever they could. The Demon did have a reputation, and there were rumors. While they WERE all true, no one could prove any of them. However, there were a few people who hid from him simply because of how he looked. In front of the sharp horns on his helmet are two holes where the flames from his eyebrows shoot out of, giving him an intimidating appearance whenever he wore the armor. Pleased with the reactions he received, Famidus decided to not visit any of these toys anytime soon.

Soon, the doors of the Chambers were pushed upon as Famidus walked in. He let the Croconaw clean his feet and soon The Demon found a spot and sat down, keeping to himself as he took off his helmet. Keeping his helmet close, Famidus just looked straight ahead, the smile and crazed expression in his eyes never changing.

Hey everybody! Once a week, I will change my avatar to a video game character(s). If you have any suggestions, PM me. My current avi is of Hito-Shura from Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne! It was suggested by TornZero. Someone better suggest the Space Core from Portal 2.

Ludo Linfoi opened his eyes. It has been quite some time since he fell asleep. He was not on guard-duty last night, thus he permitted himself to retire from work for a little while and rest his weary mind and body. These pat few days had been uneventful. Except for some incident at the forest, no major encounters with the Mechanists had been reported. Which is a good thing though, albeit really odd. It's suspicious of them to keep to themselves for a little longer than a week. Those ruffians can't keep themselves still, and, once in a while, some impatient Mechanists will find himself in the presence of several Knights. Then boom! Bye life.

Ludo stood up from his bunker and stretched his numb arms. He looked at himself in the mirror and slowly combed his blood-red whiskers. Looking good today, huh? He retreated back to his wardrobe and opened it. Ludo got his armor out, a blood-red armor, like the color of his whiskers. He likes the color red for some reason. Slowly, Ludo eased into his armor. Unlike other armors, this was very light, and only reaching up to his elbows, allowing his "sleeves" to fall freely. The Oram Berry shone in the semidarkness.

"I'm good to go," Ludo said to himself. Even though the curfew is still on, he enjoyed the privilege to roam around the city, as it s guard. As usual, the whole city is silent. Not one leaf is stirring. The citizens were acting like good pets under the Council's care. Well, less trouble is good. Ludo is supposed to proceed to the Chambers. Along the way, he saw several Knights, all under him, doing guard-duty. He hoped their night was pretty much uneventful.

As he reached the building, he saw a man-like shadow leaping from building to building before landing on the soft ground. He tossed something in his mouth and proceeded to the council gates. He was momentarily illuminated by a the soft glow of the moon. Caedmon Yeonart, the second in command. He went inside.

Ludo followed. When he approached the gates, Caedmon was already climbing the high stairs towards the second floor. I'll get back to him later. Ludo nodded to the Croconaw, signalling him to start cleaning his feet. It was a custom among the Knights, though Ludo has no idea why and how it started. As the Croconaw finished, he pondered over where to go first. Up the second floor, or into the kitchen? Ludo's stomach answered.

"Well, I'll just have to grab a few berries there," Ludo told to himself. He took the first right turn on the left side of the first floor and opened the second door on the left. There is but a single Knight inside, the Crustle nicknamed "Chef." Chef is known for his superb culinary skills.

"Hi there, Chef," Ludo greeted as he grabbed a Pecha Berry from a basket.

"Hi there, Ludo. I heard there was a meeting?"

"Yup, was just going upstairs when I thought of grabbing something to eat. See ya', Chef," Ludo said. chef just nodded without taking his eyes off what he is cooking. For some reason, the smell reminded Ludo of a crispy custard cake.

Ludo trudged upstairs, biting on the berry as he did so. When he arrived on the second floor landing, he saw Maverick Renos and Caedmon Yeonart talking. Ludo immediately knelt.

Ken Bala

Ugh... Ken started to groan as he opened his eyes. He fell asleep in a tree outside the Cerulean Enclave last night. I don't feel like getting up on time today... I'll just Sneak into the meeting a little late. "No one... will notice...." And he was back out.

Alice

Most of the citizens were only waking up right now, but she was out of bed and ready to go as she usually was so she could take a little longer to get prepared. She ate a big breakfast right after she woke, so it should last her until lunch, too. "Last quick check before I leave...." She stood right next to a window, specks of her fur sparkling in the morning light. Raising each leg she made sure each greave faintly shined with her claws. The green gem embedded in one of the greaves was clear, too. "Perfect."

Alice walked out of her stone home to head to the Chambers, being greeted by few guards who seemed to respect her, since she somehow miraculously managed to make Knight-Commander, while others either hid or scoffed. She even heard a superstitious, gossip-loving pair of armored Chatot trying to mock her behind her back, "Why'd Arceus even put such a catastrophic species on this planet? And even worse, the Commander of all people actually put her in a position of authority. What could be worse?"

"Those things are supposed to live up to a century, for one," the other replied. "And with that kind of lifespan, not just us, but our kids and even grandkids will be stuck dealing with..." and as Alice kept walking, they finally faded out. She was proud of herself. Not just because her rank, but because she could just live with all these people for so long without killing even one of them. Sometimes she wondered if the Mechanists were more open-armed. She quickly rid herself of the thoughts, though, knowing the result if she ever let them slip.

When she reached the Chambers, a Croconaw offered to shine her greaves. The point of it she never knew (and any explanations didn't help), but she nodded for him to do so, glancing around in the meantime. She saw The Demon; he never seems to NOT have that madman's ear-to-ear grin. When he finished up, Alice looked to the stairs up and saw Linfoi on the landing, kneeling for Maverick and Caedmon.

Don't, Alice irritatingly told herself, so she walked over to where Famidus was sitting. She gave him a short nod, and took a seat a couple feet from him. Guaranteed someone would think her insane herself just for voluntarily being within a mile of the Darmanitan, but she had to work with him anyways. Maybe his screwed-up logic could explain the shoe-shiner clearly to her, too, but she decided not to ask.

The alarm clock on Seth's bedside table rang loudly as the yawning Flygon exited the steamy bathroom, a towel hung on both sides of his shoulder. Even after the shower, he was still feeling a great deal of sleepiness. He stepped lightly around his room--there was a great deal of machineries laid out on the stone floor, most of them being brought out there purposefully for Seth to study. Even though he was being as careful as any sleepy oversized Flygon could, he eventually did trip over one, his head landing on the towering scraps of metal beside his fireplace. A loud zap followed, as a bolt of lightning fired towards the Flygon's belly.

"...Ugh. Stupid Shock Gun." Seth mumbled to himself, before getting up, using his scrawny, scaled arms as support. Luckily, being of the Ground type, the Shock Gun had no effect on him apart from the slight black mark visible on his belly. Scratching his head at the mess he made, he brushed off the burn on his belly, which went away in a second. He arranged the pieces of metal back against the wall, covering the Knights of the Oran platemail hung on the side of the fireplace. He quickly mumbled a couple of prayers to Arceus and Articuno, before heading towards his humble house's exit.

Sliding his Flamethrower and Boom Stick on either of his shoulders, he opened the door and felt the musty cavern air immediately greeting him. Feeling the cold chill his spine, he grabbed the scarf hung on the side of the doorknob that faced the inside of his house and wrapped it around his neck. Only after that did he walk out of the house and sauntered down--flying wasn't an option in this state--the alleyways that led to the convention center, struggling to stay awake. Of course, the blinding street lights helped him keep his focus, but it wouldn't take a minute for Seth to let his drowsiness overtake him again.

"Hey, rise and shine, sleepyhead," a Braviary, flying downwards towards Seth to nudge the Flygon's head with his clawed foot.

Somewhat annoyed, the Braviary swooped down towards the aimlessly walking Seth and, this time, plucked him between his eyes, before soaring to the sky as quickly as he could.

"AGH! THE HELL WAS THAT FOR, SHOOTER?!" Seth roared, furious at the aforementioned Braviary. Seth quickly soared after the Shooter, winds blowing with each wingbeat, a testament to his determination to roast Shooter alive right then and there.

Shooter let out a hearty laugh, flying in circles around the cavern's spiky top with an angry, but very much awake Seth on his tail. At the speed they were flying, it wasn't surprising that they reached the convention center. Shooter landed near the entrance door and motioned for his best friend to stop, still laughing uncontrollably. "Okay, like, stop, dude," he said, inbetween pants and laughter.

Seth wouldn't listen. He swooped down quickly and swiped his tail against the Braviary's belly. He hit a cavern wall, but he was still laughing. "Okay, fine, I deserved that," Shooter said, wiping the tears he got from laughing so hard.

"Sure did," Seth replied, smiling. He was feeling better after hitting the Braviary--wait, does this make him masochistic? Oh well, who cares.

He entered the building and helped himself to a vegetable salad. Carrying the plate on his hands, he sat down at the table closest to where he was and began eating.

Boom! A cannon went off in the distance and shook the messy room. There were herbs and vials and bottles all over the place. As soon as the cannon sounded, a couple of vials fell off the stand. As they were about to hit the ground, a light blue aura surrounded them as Luna threw her blanket off of herself. "Trigger-happy Alexander," muttered the annoyed Kirlia with lavender horns. The medicine and half-finished projects realigned themselves on the stand as she stood up. Still a bit sleepy, she put on her sash and bracelet before walking over to the stand. She checked herself in the mirror, picked some of the medicine up and put them in her pouch, and then she sent a prayer to her mother. Right at the door, her alarm went off, which forced her to go back and turn it off.

Walking outside of her room, she saw a couple of Pokemon getting out to check what the noise was. Apparently the noise was now getting on some of the newer Mechanists. It didn't happen often, but it happened enough for it to be annoying. What ticked off the Pokemon more, although most wouldn't admit it, was that they weren't able to use them. Luna didn't care; she didn't like to fight and doesn't want to. To her, the cannons were just a toy as she hasn't really seen Alexander ever use them seriously. A very well-kept toy, she had to admit, but a toy nonetheless.

Today we have to go to the convention center, Luna thought to herself, I wonder what it's about? She walked down the empty streets with only some early-bird shop stands. The residential area where she lived wasn't that active in the morning when dawn breaks, not that she knows when it's dawn anyways. Living underground has some perks, but there are also downsides to everything. Although the place isn't that active in the morning, it's like a festival when the sun goes down. But for some reason, there was no action last night.

Eventually Luna got lonely on the road and decided to teleport there. Before she was able to, however, she was stopped by the voice of her friend Snover. "Wait! Don't go yet!" he yelled before he tripped, rolled, and stopped at Luna's feet.

Immediately, Luna was on her knees next to the injured Snover. "Are you okay Jun?" She used a Heal Pulse on Jun and he was back up in no time.

"I'm... fine," Jun replied in a shaky voice. He almost fell on Luna, but caught himself at the last moment. "I'm just a little confused that's all." Luna gave him a Persim Berry and looked him over one more time to make sure he was alright.

"Why did you just suddenly call out to me like that?" Luna asked incredulously, "Especially since you were running as fast as you could?"

"I just was too lazy to walk to the convention center so I wanted to ask you if you could teleport me there," Jun said as he brushed some dust off of himself.

Luna frowned. "You know I'm not good at teleporting with another Pokemon yet right? We could end up somewhere completely unknown. Are you sure you want to do this?" Jun nodded (Snover can nod?) and the two got on their way.

After successfully teleporting the two to the convention center and a short lecture (You got lucky that I didn't go somewhere else on accident!), Luna went to get something to eat and pass the time until the meeting started.

The morning came too quickly, for Ribibin's taste. She drowsily opened her eyes and tried to see straight. Failing. Just a few more minutes... that is what she would have been thinking if she had been a slobby, lazy knight. But she wasn't. She was an eager, ready knight who always followed orders. Even when she felt that her judgement told her not to.

So the Weavile got up from her simple bed and got ready for the day. The last procedure before she went out from the room was to put on the armor. It glimmered darkly in the strangely dark silvery color it had. She even giggled a little when she put it on. The armor was marvelous. It had been a gift from her old martial arts teacher when she was a teenager and was finally allowed to become a real Knight of Oran for the first time. Her old teacher had passed away now... but the armor still stayed strong. And so did she.

Not letting herself become gloomy by sentimental thoughts - that would be unlike her anyways - she finished up by putting the headband with the jewel around her head. The headband had never fallen off. That was why she dared to wear her jewel there.

The air was fresh when Ribibin stepped out from her house. She took a while to taste the smells of the stone town. No interesting smells, really. Nothing she hadn't felt before. Judging from the light in the sky, she was on time, but no need to linger for longer than necessary.

It wasn't long until she reached the council building; the largest building in town. She nodded at the guards, giving them each a strange smile. She usually did that, liking to confuse silly males with her charm. She didn't even have to try to look pretty. A woman acting smart against them most often made males confused long before they had time to really react and get angry with her. And by then, she was usually long gone.

Inside, she was approached by the footwasher. Without giving it a second thought, Ribibin casually put up one foot after the other to let them be cleansed... from whatever they needed to be cleansed from. Ribibin always took great care for her personal hygiene. Compared to many males she knew...

Something suddenly splashed up at her leg. She looked down to see a Totodile who was now very red faced. It hurriedly finished washing her other feet and then ran back from the corner it had come from, still embarrassed. Poor thing, the Weavile thought, but smiled smartly. He must be new, unevolved and all. No matter, nobody had been killed from a little water splash on the leg, had they now?

She caught a glimpse of the Grovyle Commander, Maverick, as he started walking up the long stairs to the Council Chamber. A snicker couldn't help but escape her lips. She was actually glad that she wasn't a commander sometimes. Those stairs would be killing. At least they gave him good exercise every morning. Instead of following him, she went to the hall where pokémon served breakfast for the knights every morning. She helped herself to a piece of bread and some salad - she preferred healthy food - and sat down alone on a bench, watching the rest of the room as she ate. She normally preferred sitting alone, as she didn't have many friends among the Knights... and since she didn't want any anyways. At least she pretended, even to herself, that she didn't.

The walls of a modest apartment building, a two-story construction, blocked the noise and commotion outside. With eight apartments in total, there was on each floor four different colored sections, each the home of a Mechanist. A staircase led to the door of each second-story apartment from the outside, making them essentially just eight homes stacked together to save space. One of the sections on the second floor, colored a simple light blue, was where a young Mechanist medic lay staring at the ceiling. The Togetic, Chauncey, had always been a light sleeper, and he had woken some time before. Glancing over at the clock across the room, he saw it was almost time for the meeting to start.

Pulling himself up off the bed, Chauncey stretched and looked around the dark room, flicking a switch next to the bed. A single lightbulb on the ceiling lit up the room. Apart from a separate washroom taking up a corner of the apartment, it was a single-room dwelling, and therefore all his belongings were easily accessible. Chauncey’s bed was on the same side of the room as the washroom, with the clock on the wall directly across from it. The door out, in turn, was across from the washroom door. A cabinet near his bed, set against the wall separating the main room and the washroom, held his medical supplies, clothing, and other equipment. The medic’s good luck charm with its little red cross hung from the knob. A small, Pokemon-sized refrigerator under the clock housed his food, and any medicinal ingredients that needed to be kept cool.

Chauncey made his way over to the washroom after adjusting to the light, using the sink to rub some water in his eyes and wake up. The water was refreshing, and he didn’t bother to wipe it off, instead heading back into the main room to get ready. A meeting had been called for what seemed to be- literally- everyone. Being late probably wasn’t a good idea, especially if that Blaziken was there. Chauncey set the little medic necklace on his bed and opened the cabinet, removing his harness to put it on. The harness was made so he could easily access all equipment and Potions that were needed. It fit comfortably, even with the Togetic’s wings. The heavy pack with what was basically his portable lab was much less comfortable, but just as necessary to restock medicine in the field. He lugged the thing out of the cabinet and got it into place. Maybe it was an ironic twist of luck his wing had been damaged beyond flight; trying instinctively to fly with this thing would be painful with how it fit with his wings. As it was, that was no longer a problem. Moving on from the oddly pessimistic, possibly satirical optimism, Chauncey attached his already prepared Potions to the harness. Never hurt to be ready, whether they were heading out right after the meeting or not.

Lastly slipping on the necklace and a doctor’s mask, letting both hang down around his neck, Chauncey checked the clock one last time and turned off the lights as he opened the door to set out. As the metal portal opened, the familiar lights and sounds of the underground city assaulted his senses. Having lived with it all his life, however, the Pokemon simply shrugged it off and made his way through the streets of neon and metal towards the location of the meeting, giving friendly greetings in passing to any Pokemon he met in the street.

Finally arriving at the convention center, Chauncey quietly slipped inside. Not really wanting to get caught in the crowd, he picked up an apple from the food vendors and ate quietly in the back while he waited for the meeting to get started.

Tesus was slowly waking up from his bed when he heard the cry of a certain pokemon. He was one of the night patrolling knights yesterday, so he went to sleep very late, thanks to the task and the late arrival of his friend, Joe the Staravia, his switching partner. In fact, the voice he was hearing also seemed to be Joe’s, the high-toned voice with occasional ‘ar’ add ups.

Tesus checked his window wearily. He wanted to sleep more, but the sunlight didn’t let him go back to the slumber. Wait, sunlight?

“I’m late!” Tesus exclaimed before hastily standing up, taking on his armor. The banging of the door got louder, probably because Joe thought that his fellow Grovyle was peacefully sleeping on the bed and not being able to hear him at all. After few heartbeats, Tesus finally managed to get his full armor on. It was bright silver with a small picture of Arceus engraved on the left side, an Oran berry on the right side of the plate. All parts: leggings, gauntlets, chest plate – everything seemed to be worn out. Tesus didn’t care much about his armor, and his intense practice was actually worsening the condition of the armor. I’ll need to wash it later. He thought.

Tesus rushed towards the door and opened it to notice a drowsy Staravia standing before him. By the face he was making, it was easy to guess Joe was angry.

“What were you doing there?! Do you know you’re late for the meeting! You’re going to get punished for that. You might lose you status! Plus, I might also get the punishment just because I’m helping you!” The Staravia barked quickly, Tesus staring at the bird with awe.

“Not the right time for chatting, Joe. Let’s get going.” Tesus nudged the bird to follow him as he dashed towards the Knight Chambers. Walking through the city was quite easy. Thankfully, it seemed like Tesus wasn’t very late, for the streets were quite empty and the curfew was only beginning to end. He ran as fast as possible occasionally waving and greeting some of the Knights, who just either stared or glared at Tesus. Sometimes who would look back to check if Joe was catching up with him. The Staravia was just barely catching up with him, breathing hard. Talk about birds being Slowpokes.

Not much time passed as Tesus and Joe finally arrived to the Knight Chambers. Both pokemon took a minute to calm down and regain their breath, for looking at 2 exhausted Knights would be weird. Taking a breath, Tesus entered the building. The familiar sight of an enormous lobby and numerous corridors welcomed him. From one of the corners came a Totodile, by the looks of it, a footwasher. Tesus just stuck his one foot out, then the other one too, not thinking about the pokemon at all. He knew for the Totodile, it would be hard.

When the footwasher finished his job, Tesus thought about what could he do now. He wasn’t hungry yet because of his midnight snacks he was eating every time he patrolled. Let’s just wait then. Tesus decided and went towards the room where other Knights were waiting for the order. He was marveled at the sight of two commanders, Alice and ‘The Demon, sitting in the same room. He awkwardly bowed to them and walked towards the spot in the corner and sat there, waiting for whatever was about to come.

__________________

It's not a matter of can or can't.-Lightning (Final FantasyXIII)

"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."-Martin Luther King, Jr.

As Maverick left the room he was greeted by the sight of Caedmon leaning on the railing. “Good morning. Received our new orders, then? It’s been a while since we have had anything to actually do, though I should of course not complain. It only means the Mechanists are holding back their attacks.”

Maverick chuckled, "You know, you are always so curious. The information I have was just received yesterday at night. You'll be told with the others at the meeting, just... don't put all you're hope into it." Maverick knew the information had a strong chance of being wrong. He had received similar information many times before and each and every time it had led to him and his Knights wandering in the middle of nowhere for a good ten hours before returning to Markus. There would be a lot of frustration on the road there, but still it was in duty to the Council.

Looking down Maverick saw some more Knights entering the Chambers and sitting around. The only one that tackled the stairs was Ludo Linfoi, a Knight-Commander. Maverick always felt... different whenever he saw his Knight-Commanders. He had hand picked each and every one as was the duty for the Head Knight. He felt proud of them, proud that they had shown themselves to be true Knight-Commanders by not failing in their duties. There had been many times when Maverick had elected others and within the first month they had failed at one time or another, but these pokemon were indeed worthy of their title. Ludo had stopped before himself and Caedmon and knelt down. "High Commanders." he said.

Maverick looked down, "Ludo, arise. I thank you for your sign of obedience." Maverick raised his voice for the other Knights to hear, "Knights, let us head into the meeting room. We have a order from the Orator that should be immediately focused on." Maverick headed down the stairs and went into the first passageway to the right of the stairs. As he went down he only glimpsed the Knights that worked directly under him.

Ludo Linfoi was a dedicated Knight. The first time Maverick had heard of him was when the Mienshao was 27. He had participated in many major battles against the Mechanist scum and just by pure strength alone had gained Maverick's attention.

His second Knight-Commander was Famidus Verruck, who some had taken to calling "The Demon". Maverick had heard not only about Famidus' grand crusade against the Mechanists, but had also heard of his ingenious mind. The Darmanitan fascinated Maverick as his mind could nearly comprehend each and every battle strategy that Maverick gave him. Truth be told, without Famidus, there would have been a few battles where Maverick might have had to retreat.

The last Knight-Commander, and perhaps the most controversial choice in all of the Knight's history, was Alice. This was perhaps the most unusual choice Maverick had made, and it was partly Matthew's fault. In the few weeks that Maverick had know Matthew he had simply dismissed the Alakazam as crazy. Matthew had been trying to pass legislation that even Maverick knew would never be passed. How the Council could allow such a rebellious mind to join them Maverick had no idea, but he was stuck serving the Alakazam. During the time he still gave a grudging respect to the Alakazam Matthew had dared him to pick a female Knight-Commander to fill in one of the empty spots. If she proved inadequate then Matthew would abandon his ideas, but if she proved to be worthy then Maverick would have to spend a hour each day listening to his ideas. Maverick had scoffed back then and had looked through the books that day. He wanted a female that would surely be ridiculed and would cry due to harsh words alone. The fact that Alice was an Absol made the Grovyle laugh.

It was a strange ceremony when he had made his announcement. No one had clapped when the Absol had been promoted by him and the next day he had been called into the Council's presence and was berated for his lack of judgement. As the weeks passed Maverick had watched Alice suffer various forms of punishment from not only her fellow Knights, but from himself as well. Her duties had been demeaning and the talk of the city, but he was surprised when she not only succeeded but also went above the job and still managed to look good doing it. Matthew had won the bet. Perhaps it was because of what she had to work through that made Maverick feel more proud of her than his other Commanders.

Then, there were the common Knights. There was Tenebrosus Folium, a Grovyle as well, that was more curious than the usual Knight, but focused and disciplined as well. Ribibin Triss, a female Weavile who was a loner. To top it off there was one Knight missing. He wasn't missing because he was late or in another city. Seth Redding was missing for a different purpose.

Maverick was the first in the room and waited as the other Knights piled in. Once everyone was in he nodded to a Gallade in the room who closed the door and placed a psychic shield around the walls. No one would be allowed to hear what he had to say.

"Greetings fellow Knights," Maverick began. He took off his helmet carefully, making sure not to pull on his leaf. "We have a mission straight from the Orator himself. We have been informed of the location of an enclave." Maverick expected most of the Knights to at least groan or show some discomfort. They had been sent many times before on missions to 'enclaves' only to wander around the forest for most of the day. He began again, "The enclave is named 'Kanto'. The informant told said that it is underground and can only be accessed by a large hole dug into the earth." It was here that Maverick was doing his very best not to smile or burst out laughing. It sounded absolutely absurd. A city underground? Still he continued, "We are to head out as soon as possible and go north. At this point I open up discussion, does anyone have any questions?"

Damon happily munched down on some cereal as he looked around at the various pokemon coming inside. There weren't a lot since the D.F. was an all volunteer army. Unlike the Knights that forcibly drafted young ones into service all soldiers in the D.F. could enter, and leave, whenever they wanted. They needed pokemon who wanted to fight, not those who were forced to fight. Damon gave a glance at Urta and saw a Aggron talking to her. Shrugging Damon found a table and practically inhaled his cereal. He looked around and his eyes first fell upon Seth Redding. One of the first Knights to actually go against the Council and join up with them. Many of the other soldiers weren't too friendly with him yet but to Damon he was a blessing. Once he got comfortable enough then he could tell them how patrols worked and just how to get around the Knights more easily.

He also picked out Luna Dyseris who had just recently also fled the cities and joined them. She liked books... and that was all Damon could come up with. There really wasn't anyone else he knew since he really wasn't from the Birch Enclave. He traveled to every enclave and just stayed in houses that were set aside for him. He had finished his breakfast and started heading over to Urta and her friend.

Urta, meanwhile, had just been approached by Alexander. "What cha know you old hen?" On any given day Urta would have countered with a insult to the Aggron. It was how they operated, but today wasn't the day. She pulled the Aggron in close and whispered as fast as she could, "Get out of here Alex. Something big is going down. Really big. Why call of these soldiers together for one thing? Whatever it is, it means that we need all the help we can have to pull it off. Why call soldiers who don't have that much experience? Why call those on break and those that are the top of their class? Let me enlighten you, they're want as many soldiers as they can because they expect a lot of us to die out there." She looked up and saw Damon coming over. "I didn't say anything." She whispered and pushed the Aggron back.

Damon placed his front paws on the table and grinned, "So, what are you two talking about?" He asked. Urta growled, "Nothing concerning you Damon." She glanced over at Alexander. Suddenly one of the side doors opened and a Porygon floated in. Charlie and his kind were as different as they could come. They actually first appeared to the first Mechanists some hundred and twenty years ago when some weird code was put into a machine. It popped to life and let out the Porygons that had hidden in it. Apparently there was some war and the Porygons had hidden inside these machines. It was actually due to them that they were able to learn more things about the humans and how to operate machines they just couldn't figure out. Charlie spoke in his monotone voice, "Greetings Declarum Forces. Please remain seated and please greet Mr. Riley Richards!"

Damon gasped as he looked at Urta, "Did you know he was coming!? I didn't! We don't have anything prepared!"

Urta looked surprised as well, "Well, I don't either! C**p!" The Tyrogue walked out on stage and both quickly took their seats. "Thank you all for coming out here. I have a very special presentation for you all. I still see we have some soldiers coming in so we'll set aside some time before we begin the presentation. There's more than enough food set aside, so please help yourselves. We'll give you all ten minutes before we begin." The Tyrogue walked off stage and Damon and Urta got up and pursued him.

"Relax Damon. No on was supposed to inform you! We have everything planned."

Damon looked confused, "What exactly do you have planned sir?"

"Don't worry about it, look I have to confirm some things with Charlie. Great seeing you two again!"

The door closed behind him and both looked at each other, perplexed. "Well, I guess we'll have to wait." Damon said. "It isn't like we'll end up embarrassing ourselves and the whole D.F. at the same time and be bad hosts and-"

Urta slapped Damon hard and grabbed him by the shoulders, "Relax! Just go with the flow and we'll be good." Damon nodded weakly and went to the water cooler and began drinking like there was no tomorrow.

You know, you are always so curious. The information I have was just received yesterday at night. You'll be told with the others at the meeting, just... don't put all you're hope into it." Maverick said, a somewhat annoyed look on his face. Caedmon understood why he looked as he did. He himself had been sent out on various missions to so-called ‘enclaves’ and at best, they found a bandit camp, which was quickly dispatched of.

Something about this whole thing did still intrigue Caedmon, who lifted a paw to scratch his cheek faintly, glancing towards the Mienshao climbing up the immense amount of stairs. This caused Caedmon to smile faintly.

“Still, you cannot possibly expect the council to gather up both the leading commanders, as well as not just one, but –several- knight-commanders, based on a loose rumor, can you? There has to be some sort of pull with the informant this time.”

As Ludo made his way up to the top of the stairs and knelt, Caedmon pushed himself off of the rail, giving him a faint nod and a friendly smile. It was always nice to see dedicated knights, especially ones Caedmon had fought and bled alongside. There was a certain type of bond between two Pokémon fighting together.

“It is good to see you again, Ludo, but I’m afraid your climb was for naught.” He said as he glanced towards Maverick, moving to the railing and calling out to the assembled Pokémon. "Knights, let us head into the meeting room. We have a order from the Orator that should be immediately focused on."

As Maverick passed Caedmon and Ludo, he glanced after him before looking back at the Mienshao, motioning with his head for him to follow along. “Best see what information has been provided for us this time.”

As he was trotting down the stairs, he looked over the various Pokémon who had now turned to glance up at them, Caedmon folding his paws behind his back, looking around with his rather piercing eyes, though this did not subtract from his somewhat mixed walk. It was both casual and very determined at once. He saw various faces that he could recognize, both from having spoken, fought alongside and from reports and random chats with the other commanders and knights.

He looked at no one in any particular manner, not even the very controversial female knight-commander. Caedmon had heard of what she had managed to do, but the fact that she was a woman, and granted, according to the laws, worth less than a male, that didn’t matter to Caedmon. As soon as you become a knight, you aren’t any longer male or female, you’re a knight. And as long as you did what you were ordered, pulled through and were an example to others, he wouldn’t look at others as inferior, even females.

As they entered the large room, Caedmon was right behind Maverick, taking his usual spot by his side and a little behind him, his arms still folded on his back, taking a stoic position while overlooking the entering knights. He knew they might very well all be fairly on edge due to the possibility of them going to find one of these enclaves and possibly eradicating some Mechanists… or maybe they were annoyed at the fact that this might very well be another, wild goosechase.

Caedmon remained silent while Maverick spoke, his eyes slowly moving across the room, his ears only twitching somewhat, his brows furrowing a little once Maverick was done. An underground city? The idea was preposterous, but it still intrigued him. That could be a reason as to why they hadn’t found it yet. He cleared his throat and spoke up.

“Are we to create groups when we reach the approximate area of this… hole, and look for the entrance? It would widen the area we can search and lessen the time we would have to spend, whether this entrance is there or not.”

"Ludo, arise. I thank you for your sign of obedience," Maverick Renos, the first-in-command of the Knights, said. Ludo rose up, the obedient knight as always. Even though he question their actions, he never question his obedience to the Oran. He is expected to follow orders around, and that he did. Being a Knight-Commander, he needed to set an example to the lower ranking knights. "I am yours to command, High Commander Maverick." Ceadmon Yeonart, second-in-command gave him a slight smile and nodded.

“It is good to see you again, Ludo, but I’m afraid your climb was for naught," he said.

"No, High Commander Caedmon. I am merely here to pay my due respect," Ludo said, his head bowed in acknowledgement. However, he think that the two High Commanders did not hear him, as Maverick faced the Knights below. Ludo jumped down the rails, and landed softly on the ceramics below.

"Knights, let us head into the meeting room. We have a order from the Orator that should be immediately focused on," Maverick Renos said. All the Knights present looked up at him. He slowly descended the stairs, looking at them one by one. Ludo looked at his fellow Knights. The other two Knight-Commanders was present. The Demon and Alice. Both very interesting individuals. Ludo remembered the outcry that arose when Alice, the Absol, was made Knight-Commander. He did not challenge that. From the moment Ludo saw Alice's prowess in battle, he knew that she would make a good commander.

Ludo followed the other Knights inside the meeting room. He took the seat closest to Maverick and Caedmon. One by one, the other knight's filed inside and took their respective seats. A Gallade put up a psychic barrier to prevent the leaking of sound.

Maverick then started to talk about the new information. Regarding an enclave named "Kanto." Ludo groaned. Enclaves were supposed to contain hordes of Mechanists, but so far they have found none. Ludo himself is doubtful of their existence. Maverick continued. "At this point I open up discussion, does anyone have any questions?"

Caedmon was the first one to start the questions. “Are we to create groups when we reach the approximate area of this… hole, and look for the entrance? It would widen the area we can search and lessen the time we would have to spend, whether this entrance is there or not," he asked. Ludo also followed up.

"Before we even continue these discussion, I am going to ask if all of us, even the three Knight-Commanders are required to join you? I mean, we all could and are willing, but isn't it a bit exaggerated to send out us three at once? This enclave may even be a product of an overactive imagination."

Ribibin finished eating and went out into the great hall to wait for the meeting to begin. When she saw the commanders come down from the stairs, she followed them into the meeting room as she was supposed to. She exchanged a simple nod as a greeting with a few of the other knights, but otherwise just sat down quietly in a spot where she could clearly hear and see Maverick. The Grovyle who was their glorious commander. Pfft. He was just a man like the rest of them. But titles meant a lot. She looked around to see Caedmon stand near him. The Lucario was different than other men, somehow. Ribibin actually respected him.

"Greetings fellow Knights," Maverick began. He took off his helmet carefully, making sure not to pull on his leaf. "We have a mission straight from the Orator himself. We have been informed of the location of an enclave."

Ribibin heard some diffuse groaning. She didn't utter a single noise though. She knew why some knights weren't happy with the orders. There had been times when they had been walking for days to reach a place where an enclave was supposed to be - only to find that the rumors had simply been rumors.

"The enclave is named 'Kanto'," Maverick continued. "The informant told said that it is underground and can only be accessed by a large hole dug into the earth. We are to head out as soon as possible and go north. At this point I open up discussion, does anyone have any questions?"

Large hole into the earth, hm? Ribibin didn't like to be underground. It made her feel uncomfortable and made her skin creep a little when she was in small areas. She liked open skies or at least large rooms. Like the halls of the Council building, actually. She had no real questions, none that she would pose here in front of everyone, at least. She was a woman and she knew her place. Women who spoke up too much too often got in trouble... more or less directly.

“Are we to create groups when we reach the approximate area of this… hole, and look for the entrance?" a familiar voice said. It was Caedmon. Of course he had some opinions on how the thing would be organized. "It would widen the area we can search and lessen the time we would have to spend, whether this entrance is there or not.”

Before Maverick could respond, someone interrupted them. How rude, Ribibin's first thought was. She stretched her neck a bit to see who spoke up. It was the Mienshao, Ludo. A lower ranked Commander. Still higher ranked than Ribibin though. Eons higher.

"Before we even continue these discussion, I am going to ask if all of us, even the three Knight-Commanders are required to join you? I mean, we all could and are willing, but isn't it a bit exaggerated to send out us three at once? This enclave may even be a product of an overactive imagination."

The Weavile couldn't let that pass unnoticed. She blinked and stared at the Mienshao. Wasn't he supposed to be brave and wise? Here he sounded like a lazy bastard. He probably wanted to stay at home lazying around instead of joining the squadrons that marched towards a new failure. Ribibin wanted to say something rather nasty now... but she managed to sit quiet. Her face probably looked a little strained and annoyed though. She hoped that Caedmon or someone didn't notice.

As soon as Maverick asked the question Caedmon raised a question. “Are we to create groups when we reach the approximate area of this… hole, and look for the entrance? It would widen the area we can search and lessen the time we would have to spend, whether this entrance is there or not.” Maverick was about to answer, but Ludo already had another question ready.

"Before we even continue these discussion, I am going to ask if all of us, even the three Knight-Commanders are required to join you? I mean, we all could and are willing, but isn't it a bit exaggerated to send out us three at once? This enclave may even be a product of an overactive imagination."

Maverick nodded his head, "These are all good questions. In answer to you're question Caedmon, it depends on what we find. If we do not come across the... hole when we do first get there, then it we will split up to find it. We are all Knights, we can take a few Mechanists. Once we do find the entrance, if there is one, we form back up in a group and proceed cautiously. As to your question Ludo, we do not know if this is just the imagination of the informant. We do not know if this is just made up and we spend a good five hours searching for something that doesn't exist. But, what if it does exist? What if there is a place where the Mechanists hide? We have no idea what is inside this enclave. Are there ten Mechanists? A hundred? Do they have technology that can kill us outright down there? Is it a cave they dug out or is it an elaborate set of tunnels that our enemies can use to cave us in? The point is we don't now what would be down there."

"In short, yes I need you Ludo, I need you Alice, and I need you Famidus. It is always better to be over prepared than to be under prepared. who we bring with us can determine whether or not we prevail, and who better to bring than the Knight-Commanders themselves? Any other questions?"

Alice

Alice followed as the Head Commander called in all the Knights, and sat near Linfoi. She started to think of ways "The Demon" would follow in, maybe swinging, hanging onto a long banner that could be a rope before slamming face-first into a pillar. Sounds like him. Behind them all, a Gallade slammed the doors shut and covered it in a psychic barrier; they couldn't afford anyone eavesdropping, it seemed. Maybe this was actually going to be worth attending.

Maverick spoke of a new enclave named "Kanto," and started talking about it being, get this, in a HOLE. Mechanists may have been techies, but did anyone actually think they seriously managed to dig out an entire city? But for some reason, that only got Alice more interested in it. What could they find underground? "Any questions?" he finished. There were plenty of things the Absol wanted to ask, but the questions were really more out of intrigue in the enclave itself, not the mission.

His second-in-command was the first to talk, as expected, asking about efficiency. “Are we to create groups when we reach the approximate area of this… hole, and look for the entrance? It would widen the area we can search and lessen the time we would have to spend, whether this entrance is there or not.”

And Ludo opened his mouth before Maverick could even answer Caedmon's question. "I am going to ask if all of us, even the three Knight-Commanders are required to join you? I mean, we all could and are willing..." and Alice could feel some of their subordinates just staring at the Mienshao, but she was concentrating on thinking about the enclave.

The Grovyle in charge pulled out an explanation, mostly about having little knowledge of the enclave, then finishing up with the fact of being better off over-prepared. "Any other questions?" Alice managed to think of a few actually related to the task at hand.

"Should we expect to see patrols similar to our own? or even exactly like our own, perhaps to throw us off? The fact they've managed to remain hidden this long, even if by a hole in the ground, can't be chalked up to just a game of Hide-and-Seek."

While everyone mingled, Chauncey mostly stayed back, munching quietly on his apple. He hadn't eaten supper the day before, and was more hungry than he let on, but the lines at the food vendors were long at the moment, and he didn't want to wait in line while he already had something; it just seemed rude. Instead he just hung around at the back wall. Lifting the fruit to his mouth, Chauncey crunched another bite from it as he wondered what it was they were all being called for. Since literally everyone seemed to have been summoned, it must have been something big. The Togetic's suspicions drifted towards the Declarum Forces actually openly attacking the Council in force. The thought of open war worried him, especially all the Pokemon who would be killed or injured. In the background a voice spoke, but Chauncey didn't really hear what it said. Looking up when he saw movement, Chauncey saw everyone taking their seats, and a Tyrogue taking the stage. Instantly recognizing who it was, Chauncey hurried to take his seat as well, stowing the half-eaten apple in a pouch.

The Tyrogue addressed the crowd, "Thank you all for coming out here. I have a very special presentation for you all. I still see we have some soldiers coming in so we'll set aside some time before we begin the presentation. There's more than enough food set aside, so please help yourselves. We'll give you all ten minutes before we begin." With that, the Pokemon walked off the stage.

Sighing, Chauncey tried to push away his worries. It was a presentation, maybe that meant they wouldn't be going into battle en masse just yet. Seeing the lines were just starting to grow again, the Togetic hurried up to grab something else. While he waited, ran a hand over the scar on his wing, as he often did when trying to ignore something, in this case the thoughts of war. The feel of it gave him something else to focus on. Soon it was his turn in the line, and he took a few Nanab berries. Returning to his spot at the back wall, Chauncey took out the apple to finish it, holding the Nanabs in the other hand. When he took a bite of the apple, he found it tasted strange, and examined it. He blinked at the powder on it; apparently in his rush to take his seat he'd put it in his sleeping pellet pouch by mistake. One of them must have burst inside. Blinking again, this time, Chauncey found his eyelids were getting heavy. In a few moments, the Togetic had fallen on the floor, asleep.

When all the knights had been called into the room, Famidus' eyes practically widened. A special meeting? Heh. Good. This meant that there was going to be a special mission. One that would probably require Famidus to be completely focused on tearing his toys apart, probably by his own two hands. Hm... What if General Maverick just needed the Darmanitan to advise, or stay behind and tell the General what they needed to do? Either way, Famidus would get to play.

The door slammed shut and was sealed off by the Gallade after Famidus walked in, carrying his helmet with his right arm and using his left arm to position himself so he could swing his legs forwards. It was tough being a Darmanitan sometimes.

What? A new enclave? The Kanto Enclave? Underground?

Famidus paid attention as he heard those words. Instantly, tactics of how the knights would get through went through Famidus' mind. He began making multiple plans for this mission without knowing enough. Do they know anything else about this place?

... Apparently not, and now was the time for Famidus' question.

"General, I must ask, how many common knights are coming with us? This is an unknown location, and if it is real, I imagine we'll need a good many regular knights to claim this location."

Alexander Maximillian

Expecting a sharp reply from his comrade, Alexander was quickly surprised when the Blaziken pulled him in close and whispered somewhat quickly. "Get out of here Alex. Something big is going down. Really big. Why call of these soldiers together for one thing? Whatever it is, it means that we need all the help we can have to pull it off. Why call soldiers who don't have that much experience? Why call those on break and those that are the top of their class? Let me enlighten you, they're want as many soldiers as they can because they expect a lot of us to die out there." Urta then looked over and saw the young Linoone Damn coming. "I didn't say anything," she whispered, pushing Alexander back. Meanwhile, Alexander was getting over the shock of what just happened. Urta never acted like that... And she was right. Everything she had said was right. Something was up.

Damon placed his front paws on the table and grinned,"So, what are you two talking about?"He asked. Urta growled,"Nothing concerning you Damon."She then glanced over at Alexander, who knew what to do.

"It's all good kid," said Alexander, his expression turning to one of light-heartedness. On the inside though, Alex was concerned. This mission, whatever it was, was gonna be-

A side door opened and Charlie the Porygon walked in, quickly introducing the leader of the Mechanists, Riley Richards. The Tyrouge walked in and Alexander immediately saluted the leader and stayed that way until he left. It was something his father did, and he felt that that was what he was supposed to do. When Riley went off to talk to Charlie Alexander turned to both Urta and Damon.

Hey everybody! Once a week, I will change my avatar to a video game character(s). If you have any suggestions, PM me. My current avi is of Hito-Shura from Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne! It was suggested by TornZero. Someone better suggest the Space Core from Portal 2.

Tesus didn't have to wait long for the meeting to start. Soon, all other knights, Maverick and Caedmon were in the room, the door tightly closed with a psychic barrier. He didn't noticed Joe sitting right next to him, cleaning his wings.

It appeared that Maverick received the orders today. After hearing the General, Tesus groaned. An another 'enclave'? A city underground? This better be something serious, not a false direction.

After the speech, many Knights asked multiple questions. Most of them were about with whom and how the search was going to happen. Tesus didn't have any questions for now, but he was eager to explore again. Hopefully, they will find an enclave this time. Tesus smiled as he crossed his legs and watched the ongoing conversation.

"Isn't that Ribbin, sitting over there?", came a whisper from the right. Tesus quickly turned around, only to notice Joe staring at him. The question was pointed to him. The Staravia slowly pointed its wing to the Weavile, who was intensely watching the discussion. And she seemed to be pissed off.

"Don't know. Why bother?" Tesus just shrugged. Joe opened his beak to answer, but he seemed to change his mind as he shook his head and muttered 'Never mind'. Tesus raised his brow, noticing that something was wrong about his friend: his blushing face, his panicking eyes, the always twitching talons. He was about to ask what was wrong, but he remembered that this wasn't the right time to ask. Maybe later. Tesus concentrated back on listening to the discussion, making a mental note of getting Joe spill out his 'troubles' after the meeting.

__________________

It's not a matter of can or can't.-Lightning (Final FantasyXIII)

"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."-Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Should we expect to see patrols similar to our own? or even exactly like our own, perhaps to throw us off? The fact they've managed to remain hidden this long, even if by a hole in the ground, can't be chalked up to just a game of Hide-and-Seek." Alice asked.

"Yes we should. If these enclaves are important to the Mechanists then they will likely be guarded. Many of you have already fought against these rebels in various parts of the forest in small groups. If this enclave acts a house or a storage system for them then we can expect to face a much higher number and no doubt multiple patrols around the site. Be on your guard at all times while we are there."

"General, I must ask, how many common knights are coming with us? This is an unknown location, and if it is real, I imagine we'll need a good many regular knights to claim this location." Famidus asked.

Maverick smirked, "Oh course we do Famidus. Many of the excess guards from other cities have already traveled here and we will be meeting with them once our we are done here. That also brings me back onto Caedmon's question. Once we get there we split into four different groups. Caedmon and myself will lead group one, Famidus will lead group two, Ludo will lead group three, and Alice will lead group four. We will divide the Knights evenly and it may be possible that we will be able to come at our foe at four different angles. Remember, these enclaves have never been discovered so the Mechanist patrols roaming around might be more relaxed than other patrols you have faced in the wilderness."

Maverick looked around waiting for more questions. When none were spoken he nodded his head, "Good." He place on his helmet once more and the psychic shield dissipated from the room. "Let us head out Knights." Maverick led the group outside and back into the lobby. It was then that he turned his head noticed the Council right on stairs. "Councilors, Orator." Maverick immediately bowed to them. Fergo smiled, "Arise Knights, we have just received a very important piece of information from the interrogation room. Apparently in every enclave there is a map detailing the location of other enclaves. Once you have led your forces inside Maverick your chief concern should be finding this map and securing it. It could prove to be an effective way of ending this war."

Urit suddenly pointed at a guard, "Hey you, get me a drink. I'm thirsty here!" Fergo frowned but continued on none the less, "Also, it would prove very invaluable if you are able to secure a prisoner for us. I am afraid that the prisoner we have does not know much about the other enclaves and it would be even greater if you can capture one of their own soldiers."

Joshua spoke up, "It has come to our attention that with a soldier we can gain a wealth of information concerning their military structure and how we can slip Knights through their ranks with ease."

Fergo nodded, "Do not fail us Maverick." Maverick bowed his head, "We will not Orator." Fergo and everyone, save Matthew, grabbed hold of an abra and were teleported away. The Alakazam approached Maverick, "A word Maverick, if you may." Maverick nodded, "Of course Councilor. Ludo head out and get the troops prepared, I'll be then in a few minutes."

Maverick followed after Matthew into a hallway. "Maverick, you don't have to be so formal, everyone knows we're good friends."

Maverick sighed, "Procedure. It's always about procedure."

Matthew chuckled, "Yes, well I was wondering what plans you had for tomorrow night."

Maverick sighed, "Well, all I have is this raid planned and that's it."

"Great! We're be going to Chef's Choice! I have seats and everything already arranged. Just a time to relax and talk."

Maverick looked up, "Don't you need to be up there right now?"

Matthew rolled his eyes, "They'll pass laws with or without me. Anyway how are your Knights doing?"

"Fine. I suspect there will be some anger once we don't find this 'enclave'"

Matthew chuckled, "That's to be expected. How is everything?" Maverick and Matthew spent only a few minutes talking before Maverick halted the conversation, "Matthew I must be going. The Knights will be getting impatient."

"Well, good luck my friend. Don't be so stiff around me, loosen up once in a while."

Maverick nodded and headed outside. The streets were busy with commoners running around. Merchants were selling their wares that were on display and young boys ran around delivering mail or packages. All kinds of pokemon walked the streets and as Maverick moved forward the crowds moved around him. It didn't take long for him to arrive at the gate entrance. He saw his Knights and the extras the Council had promised were already gathered. "Knights let us embark." He signaled the gate keeper and the large wooden doors opened as he led the Knights out of the city.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Alexander said. Urta grunted, more as a warning for Alexander to stay quiet. Damon walked back to the table, his paws shaking with the glass of water he held, "Oh, nothing else could go wrong. I mean look around, we have everyone here, except for a few people, and as long as no one messes up we won't look like complete fools."

It was at that moment that a Togetic that fell onto the ground with an audible thud. Damon groaned and covered his face, "We're so dead!" Utra rolled her eyes and walked over to the medic that most of the room was staring at and gave him a nice kick to the face. If that didn't wake him up, then nothing would. Damon was starting to hyperventilate at this point, "Nothing else can go wrong. It'll be impossible for anything else to go wrong."

Damon practically gulped down his glass in one go and was stopped from getting another by Urta, "That's your sixth glass Damon. Sit down and just smile. It's what everyone expects you to do."

Riley appeared out of the doorway and walked back to the podium. Everyone sat down as the Tyrogue smiled, "Greetings everyone! Thank you all for coming out here today. We have a short presentation for you so please hold all questions after we're done." The lights dimmed and a projector screen appeared on the wall. "Many of you don't know the political situation in the cities right now. Three years ago a Alakazam by the name of Matthew was elected to the Council." A picture of an Alakazam appeared. "He is young, very young and holds different ideas from the rest of the Council. Many of his ideas are very close to those held by us. He is considered radical but loved by the populace, especially those discriminated against. He is the pokemon we have been waiting for. Five years ago we sent an agent to infiltrate the city of Markus with one goal in mind. To get close to the Council. He succeeded and for the past two years he has sent us information dealing with the layout of the Council Chambers."

Damon frowned, layout, why would they need to know that? "This plan has been five years in the making and today we enact it! We have been living in the darkness for far too long. This world belongs to us as well! Our plan is a simple one. None of the Councilors know how we live, they know nothing about us. All they hear are stories and rumors. We need someone with an open mind, like Matthew to understand how we work. If we can get him to understand what we really are like then we can plant a seed. It will take time for him to eventually rise to the rank of Orator, but he will be a great ally once he does! What we are about to do today is going to change history!" Riley looked over the pokemon, "We are going to capture this councilor!"

Damon had managed to sneak off and get another glass of water, which he had just been drinking when the Tyrogue made his announcement. Damon spat out his water and stared slack jawed at Riley. Urta was also taken by surprise as was everyone else. For a few seconds there was just silence until Damon lost his grip on the glass he held and it shattered against the floor.

Damon was pulled out of his trance and his body began to shake. Without warning he leaped onto the podium and grabbed the Tyrogue by the shoulder and dragged him into another room and slammed the door behind him. Riley sighed, "Damon I know you're a little upset-" Damon turned around and slashed his claws across Riley's chest causing the Tyrogue to stagger back.

"UPSET!? UPSET! YOU COME HERE AND EXPECT ME TO BE UPSET!? I'M FURIOUS! YOU BRING ALL THESE NOBLE POKEMON TOGETHER JUST TO DIE OUT THERE!? THIS IS A F**KING SUICIDE MISSION YOU F**ING PIG! YOU WANT VOLUNTEERS TO DIE, THEN ASK FOR THEM! DON'T YOU F**KING LIE TO THEM YOU B**TARD! YOU ARE A SON OF A **TCH TO FORCE THIS JUST NOW! YOU DIDN'T EVEN F**KING TELL ME! THESE ARE MY MEN AND WOMEN, NOT YOURS! DO YOU KNOW WHAT WE F**KING GO THROUGH EACH AND EVERY DAY!? DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIME WE ESCAPE F**KING DEATH!? AND YOU WANT TO SEND US RIGHT INTO THE F**KING CAPITAL!? YOU PIECE OF S**T!

Utra opened the door and stepped inside looking gravely concerned. She had a right to be, Damon had never cused before. "Damon, everyone can hear you-"

"WELL THEY HAVE A F**KING RIGHT TO! THIS B**TARD DESERVES THEM A F**KING EXPLANATION!" It was then that Damon blasted out every single cuss word know to man and a few only know to pokemon. The soldiers in the presentation room looked extremely uncomfortable as they could hear each and every word that Damon practically screamed. Most were shocked, Damon was not know for using such language, but still, to hear their leader say such things, and even to someone as high up as Riley, just reinforced how much he cared about his soldiers.

Damon finished his rant and was left gasping at the end. Riley closed his eyes and talked slowly, "Damon... I have a plan. It is a plan that has been worked on for five years, even longer than that. We have technology necessary to pull this off. Understand me, I am giving you everything we have stored in the vaults. The stuff that's off limits we're going to be using today. I know there will be casualties, but I have had council with all of my supervisors. We know that this is the right path to take. To establish a future for our children and their children where they don't have to hid anymore. I've give you some time to calm down and then you can either let me go back out and tell everyone what we're going to do, or you can tell me to leave and I will."

While the short meeting continued going, Caedmon let his gaze brush across the room, spotting both familiar and unfamiliar faces. Even though he had never spoken directly to either Famidus or Alice, he at least knew of them and the specific reasons for them to having their ranks. Most of the other assembled knights and commanders, Caedmon had had a first-hand impression of.

He nodded a little at the various questions, acknowledging every one of them as important enough to be discussed, though even if he hadn’t, it wasn’t his place to say so, since Maverick was in command. As the meeting was wrapped up, Caedmon still seemed rather easec up, but never one hundred percent. There was an air of calm and relaxation about him, but a few different signs showed that he was rather alert at all times. A small twitch of a paw here, a flick of his ear there, all very small things.

As they went out into the meeting hall, he looked up towards the balcony as Maverick had, and promptly bowed his head deeply, allowing Maverick to lead the word. He lifted his head again, folding his arms across his chest, but yet again, stayed quiet, listening to the orders given. Capture at least one enemy soldier, and get their map. He was happy for the new information, however useless it might be if this was indeed another dud.

When Matthew approached Maverick, it didn’t come as a big surprise to Caedmon. He was used to them talking together in private, being friends and all. Caedmon was a bit unsure of Matthew’s intentions on the council, but he knew that he meant things well. As Ludo was ordered to prepare the troops, an emotion crept across his face, though he managed to hide it fairly well afterwards. It wasn’t annoyance or anger of not being picked to prepare them, nor was it frustration. He, for a few moments, had looked amused and curious.

He gave a little nod to himself, sending the Mienshao a glance along with a smile as if to say “Let’s see what you can do” before turning, moving outside and following the remainder of the group to the city gates. As they arrived, he folded his paws behind his back, turning around to peer into the city, his ears twitching a little as he seemingly stared off into nothingness. He liked listening to the sounds and feel the air in his fur at times like this. When he could enjoy it to the fullest.

"... and please greet Mr. Riley Richards!" Charlie ended in his monotonous voice. A Tyrogue walked up onto the stage and said, "Thank you all for coming out here. I have a very special presentation for you all. I still see we have some soldiers coming in so we'll set aside some time before we begin the presentation. There's more than enough food set aside, so please help yourselves. We'll give you all ten minutes before we begin." Maybe I've heard of him before, Luna thought while the Tyrogue walked off the stage, or not. I guess, if I have, I just forgot. Ten minutes huh? Well, that's long enough for me to get some more stuff. She got up and got an apple from the stand. She juggle it with her mind while walking back to her seat. As she was about to take a bite, a Togetic fell asleep and collapsed. An apple rolled away from the fallen medic, which prompted Luna to examine her apple closely before taking a bite. Urta went over and kicked the Togetic in his face. If he were awake, he'd probably be yelling in pain, she thought and took another bite of the apple, I'll go help out if he still doesn't wake up.

Just then, Mr. Riley Richards came back and walked to the podium. "Greetings everyone!" he said, "Thank you all for coming out here today. We have a short presentation for you so please hold all questions after we're done." The lights dimmed and a projector screen appeared on the wall. "Many of you don't know the political situation in the cities right now. Three years ago a Alakazam by the name of Matthew was elected to the Council." Luna knew that as she had lived in the city. No one in the Council really listened to him, and if they did, they didn't agree with him. "He is young, very young and holds different ideas from the rest of the Council. Many of his ideas are very close to those held by us. He is considered radical but loved by the populace, especially those discriminated against. He is the pokemon we have been waiting for. Five years ago we sent an agent to infiltrate the city of Markus with one goal in mind. To get close to the Council. He succeeded and for the past two years he has sent us information dealing with the layout of the Council Chambers. This plan has been five years in the making and today we enact it! We have been living in the darkness for far too long. This world belongs to us as well! Our plan is a simple one. None of the Councilors know how we live, they know nothing about us. All they hear are stories and rumors. We need someone with an open mind, like Matthew to understand how we work. If we can get him to understand what we really are like then we can plant a seed. It will take time for him to eventually rise to the rank of Orator, but he will be a great ally once he does! What we are about to do today is going to change history! We are going to capture this councilor!" Riley Richards exclaimed.

All eyes in the room were riveted on Riley in shock, surprise, and whatever else they were feeling. Why would we have to kidnap Matthew? Luna thought, appalled, If we capture him by fighting the Knights, I doubt we'll make a good impression on him. And I don't think that'll make it easier for him to swallow our ideas. Especially if we- The sound of glass shattering broke into Luna's thoughts and she suddenly became aware that Damon had dragged Riley into a separate room. Damon was swearing like a sailor. Luna was surprised, but understood why he was going over the top. If this plan wasn't good, there'd quite literally be blood on the floor.

While Maverick answered more questions, Ribibin calmed down and sat waiting patiently. She was going to be a good, obeying soldier. She had to, otherwise women didn't last long here.

"Good." Maverick place on his helmet once more and the psychic shield dissipated from the room. "Let us head out Knights." With that, he led the knights out from the meeting room. Ribibin fell into the line of knights without caring who she stood beside. She noticed, however, that is was Tesus. Another Grovyle who looked nothing like Maverick. Tesus skin was black like the night and his leaves were red. Ribibin just gave him an acknowledging nod before turning her head forward again. Something about him was certainly intimidating. Maybe the scars or maybe just... never mind.

Just then, the council descended from the stairs. Maverick immediately bowed to them and Ribibin who was now pretty close behind the commander did the same on impulse. She sneak peeked up at the councilors. They all had such majestic looks and pompous faces... wait, what was she thinking? She shook the thoughts off. Something was off for her today, she was edgy. Not a good day to start an important mission on... a small part of her hoped that the mission would only be based on mere rumors just because of that.

The Orator himself, Fergus, smiled and spoke. "Arise Knights, we have just received a very important piece of information from the interrogation room." Ribibin got up and dared to look up at the Gengar's large face. "Apparently in every enclave there is a map detailing the location of other enclaves. Once you have led your forces inside Maverick your chief concern should be finding this map and securing it. It could prove to be an effective way of ending this war."

Obviously, Ribibin thought. If she would find that map, they would surely find her useful and a good knight... or someone of her male colleagues would take the map and pretend that they found it. Probably. She shook her head slightly again. There she was again today with these thoughts. She was being even more pessimistic than usual. Then Urit, the Swampert on the council, suddenly commanded a guard to get a drink for him. Typical, the Weavile still allowed herself to think.

"Also, it would prove very invaluable if you are able to secure a prisoner for us," the Orator continued. Now, Ribibin's ear sharpened. "I am afraid that the prisoner we have does not know much about the other enclaves and it would be even greater if you can capture one of their own soldiers."

Joshua, a Breelom on the council that Ribibin disliked especially for his views on poor people, then spoke up. "It has come to our attention that with a soldier we can gain a wealth of information concerning their military structure and how we can slip Knights through their ranks with ease."

She almost wanted to sigh. Again, obviously! A clever woman could have thought up these so called plans ages ago. But these... no, she would stay calm. Gosh, she needed to get out and get some fresh air. She needed to get out of town. That was probably why she was being so easily annoyed; she hadn't left Markus in quite a while. Hoping nobody saw it, she closed her eyes for a while, calming herself down.

When she opened her eyes again, it was just in time to see Maverick tell them to set off, outside and through the now lively streets of Markus, towards their fateful mission.

Seth, sitting down in the sidelines, found the convention very boring. He had finished his salad, leaving only one poor, lonely lettuce on his plate. This was done purposefully, as Seth tried to tear it with his fork into halves, then fourths, then eighths, then sixteenths, and eventually nothing but shreds. His drowsiness began to dawn on him again, and he yawned numerous times while doing this very strange activity. When he was sure each lettuce piece was no bigger than an atom, he finally gave up. Slumped down on the table, he looked around.

The convention center was loud with various idle chatters from one Pokemon to another, and now that he paid attention to these chatters he had to perpetually cover his ears to avoid being attacked by the noise. As he did, he noticed the Declarum Force leader, Damon Malruth, eyeing him as he passed by. Oh no. Is he onto me? Did someone break into my house and find my armor? Oh god, oh god, oh god I'm doomed! were the words that first ran through his mind as the Linoone walked by him. But then he gave Seth a smile, a sincere, reassuring one, confirming that he did not, in fact, know that Seth was a spy for the Knights of the Oran. "Whoa, that gave me a heart attack..." Seth mumbled to himself in a low volume.

Seth's eyes continued to follow Damon as he went towards a table with Urta, the Declarum Force's second-in-command and an Aggron sitting on it. Damon began talking with them, and after a while Seth decided that it was safe enough to abandon his watch of the Linoone. His attention shifted back to his poor lettuce, and he began to tear it into even smaller pieces until the convention center door slammed open and let a Porygon float in. Seth has put many grueling hours studying this Porygon called Charlie, and as a result he knew that he was an important asset to the Declarum Forces. If Seth could...disable Charlie without anyone else knowing, it would surely bear a grave consequence to the Declarum Forces' strength. Seth should probably do that when he has absolutely earned their trust, though.

"Greetings Declarum Forces. Please remain seated and please greet Mr. Riley Richards!" the Porygon announced as he made way for a Tyrogue. Riley Richards, the leader of the Mechanists. Seth's eyes widened at his presence as he wondered what such an important figure was doing there. Perhaps it was to uncover a spy amongst their ranks, namely Seth? Sweat began materializing on the Flygon's forehead and subsequently rolled down like a waterfall.

However, it turned out that what the Tyrogue was about to do was in fact nothing of the sort. Instead, he walked onto the podium, put on a smile and said, "Greetings everyone! Thank you all for coming out here today. We have a short presentation for you so please hold all questions after we're done." The lights dimmed and a projector screen appeared on the wall. "Many of you don't know the political situation in the cities right now. Three years ago a Alakazam by the name of Matthew was elected to the Council." A picture of the Alakazam, Matthew, materialized on the screen. Seth's eyes widened. "He is young, very young and holds different ideas from the rest of the Council. Many of his ideas are very close to those held by us. He is considered radical but loved by the populace, especially those discriminated against. He is the pokemon we have been waiting for. Five years ago we sent an agent to infiltrate the city of Markus with one goal in mind. To get close to the Council. He succeeded and for the past two years he has sent us information dealing with the layout of the Council Chambers." I think first you should worry about the agent within your own ranks, Seth thought to himself, smirking. Still, why would Riley himself need to assemble and attend a convention for a little teaching session? There's gotta be more.

Turns out, Seth was right. "This plan has been five years in the making and today we enact it! We have been living in the darkness for far too long. This world belongs to us as well! Our plan is a simple one. None of the Councilors know how we live, they know nothing about us. All they hear are stories and rumors. We need someone with an open mind, like Matthew to understand how we work. If we can get him to understand what we really are like then we can plant a seed. It will take time for him to eventually rise to the rank of Orator, but he will be a great ally once he does! What we are about to do today is going to change history!" Riley looked over the Pokemon, apparently about to announce the history-changing event the Mechanists were about to initiate. "We are going to capture this councilor!"

F***.How do I tell the others on such short notice? was the thought that first crossed Seth's mind. This was an outrageous plan that had to be prevented at all costs. His ability of flight meant that he could outrun the troops any day, but how could he make a single wingbeat ahead of the troops without being suspicious?

Seth's silent reverie was interrupted by muzzled sounds of Damon unleashing his rage at Riley. Seth never thought Damon was one to cuss, but boy was he wrong. He spat out all the swear words in Seth's vocabulary, and then some. He was truly angry--it shows how much he cared about his soldiers, and Seth admired that. Still, if he was going to go through with this plan, he is forced to take certain measures.

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